Fulbright Update:
Thanksgiving at ambassador's fends off homesickness
In all the times I’ve lived abroad, I’ve only missed Thanksgiving once, in 2010. I was in Uganda, and the day was really miserable—a rural hotel somewhere eating cassava, which I don’t much like, washed down with a warm beer. Worst of all, it was hard being away from my family and friends.

Thanksgiving at ambassador's residence

Because of my Fulbright in Moldova, I experienced my second Thanksgiving away from home last week. On Thanksgiving day, I was mopey and lonely, and missed my family terribly. I worked most of the day to take my mind off of my isolation. But I did have a great dinner (seafood Tom Yum soup, homemade spring rolls).

However, the following day, the holiday was saved by the U.S. Ambassador to Moldova and his wonderful staff. They hosted two Fulbright scholars and six Fulbright English teaching assistants, and a few others, for a traditional American holiday meal. Everything was really excellent—moist Turkey, plenty of sage in the stuffing, and pumpkin pie with crust to die for. I’ve eaten at ambassadors’ residences before, and always think it’s cool to dine off of the china that features the seal of the United States. Even the gravy boat had this official seal.

Ambassador Kent Logsdon and his wife Michelle are warm, gracious hosts. It was great chatting with them. The ambassador has relatives in Kansas City, so it was nice to reminisce about KC, including barbeque and the giant shuttlecocks at the Nelson Atkins Museum.

The highlight of my night was catching up with the young Fulbright English teaching assistants. Brimming with energy and joie de vivre, it’s always fun hearing about their adventures.

Thanks to Kent and Michelle Logsdon, their staff, and my colleagues for a wonderful evening.

Fulbright Update:
In Soroca, applying peace journalism to young content creators
If you’ve been following my misadventures here in Moldova, you’ll know that I crashed and burned during my first attempt to teach peace journalism to a group of secondary school students. My presentation was too stiff, formal, and academic. (See previous blog for all the gory details). 

I was given a second chance by my colleagues at the Centrul Media pentru Tineri (youth media center), which organizes these fantastic workshops. This time, at a workshop in Soroca, I believe I did a much better job of connecting with the energetic youngsters.

CMT youth media/peace media seminar, Soroca

The key to my less-embarrassing presentation was shifting the focus slightly away from peace journalism (which is more applicable to those studying or practicing journalism) to peace media, a term I coined that more closely connects with the experiences of this youth group, and indeed media creators and consumers of all ages.

I defined Peace Media as  “When content creators, media consumers, and social media users make choices that can create an environment (online and in person) more conducive to peace.” This made it more applicable to and personal for the students, who after all create, consume, and disseminate/share information daily (hourly?), especially on social media.

The students and I then discussed the choices that they, as creators, consumers, and disseminators, can make that create an atmosphere more conducive to peace. These three choices regard:

1. Framing—How you tell the story. Peace framing is telling or sharing stories in a way that doesn’t sensationalize, glorify, or encourage violence, or present violence as the only alternative to conflict.
2. Word choices—Words matter. They can make angry people angrier, spread hate, stereotype, spread disinformation, further divide people (polarize), and make peaceful interactions less possible.
3. Image choices—The videos and pictures that students take, use, and share matter. Bad or fake images can mislead or confuse. Bloody, sensational images can create strong negative emotions, or can exploit and re-victimize those who have been traumatized.

CMT's Alex Ghetan opens the Soroca seminar

These concepts were derived from peace journalism, which discusses the choices journalists make, but were re-framed in a way that was more relevant to the student’s lives and experiences.

I finished my lesson with an exercise where the students edited a Tik Tok-style script to remove non-peaceful words, images (from a shot list), and framing.

The students seemed genuinely enthusiastic about this task, and seemed to take to heart my plea to take peace into account as they engage with media.

I appreciate the opportunities Centrul Media pentru Tineri has given me to work with young people, and look forward to my next road trip with the CMP team.

 

Fulbright Update:
Even at young age, kids regularly exposed to hate speech

We know that kids are exposed to hate speech. Still, it’s jarring to hear them talk about it.

At the Orizont Lyceum recently, I discussed the nature of hate speech, and how to mitigate it, with two classes—one 7th grade, and other 5th grade.

Student discussion: Is it hate speech?

Both classes had a good grasp of the nature of hate speech. gave them the definition of hate speech as “Any kind of communication in speech, writing or behavior, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender or other identity
factor.” (UN).

We also discussed whether the following example constitutes hate speech:

“Valeriu and Ana are science lab partners. After school, Ana sees a posted message online from Valeriu that says, ‘My lab results are Ana are not correct. Girls are so dumb at science.’” We agreed that this is hate speech that stereotypes girls, although a few of the boys used the example to have some fun at the expense of their female classmates. (“Are we sure that’s not true,” several boys said, laughing, knowing that it is certainly not.)

Then, the students shared many examples of hate speech that they’ve encountered online, especially on social media and on gaming platforms. This speech included racist and sexist comments, hateful comments directed at Russian speakers, and denigrating language overall.

We also discussed the motives behind hate speech. The students were right on target when they cited jealousy, anger, hatred, and wanting to get attention as motivations behind such speech.

The students had fun with the exercise I gave them. In groups of 2 or 3, they discussed whether some example statements were or were not hate speech, and why. We all agreed that such statements as “All Roma are thieves,” “Girls aren’t as smart as boys in math,” and “Wives should obey their husbands” are clearly denigrating and possibly hate speech. They weren’t so sure about statements like “President Biden is a bad president” and “Moldova shouldn’t join the EU.” I opined that neither is hate speech in my view since they are political statements stated neutrally. Now, if the statement was, “Biden is a bad president because he is too old, and old people aren’t smart or alert enough to be president,” then that would constitute hate speech.

Fifth graders, Orizont school

I finished with advice on how the students can make a difference by combating hate speech. They can do this by questioning the person posting the hate speech ("I don't get it, what did you mean by that?"); directly confronting the hateful comment; changing the subject; getting a screenshot to report what they’ve seen; and choosing not to like or share hateful comments. After all, if the offenders are seeking attention, one of the best tools we have is to deny them what they crave by not liking, sharing, or commenting. I told the students it’s their responsibility to speak out when they see hate speech. They agreed.

It was wonderful being back at Orizont. (See blog about my previous visit). I love the kids, and the time I spend with them is fun, energizing, and gratifying. I can’t wait for my next visit.

Fulbright Update:
IRC event explores the question, Why does Moldova matter?

What's happening in Moldova, and why does Moldova matter? At the gracious invitation of the International Relations Council of Kansas City (IRC), I endeavored to answer these questions during a recent webinar.

I started with a map of Moldova, and discussed its precarious situation, bordered on three sides by Ukraine, as well as by a breakaway region, Transnistria, that menacingly hosts 1,500 Russian troops. So far, I noted, those troops haven’t moved since the Ukraine war started, either to attack Ukraine or Moldova. I also noted that Moldova is very polarized, with a Romanian speaking majority that is generally pro-West and pro-EU, and a minority speaking Russian who are anti-EU and pro-Russia. For example, a recent poll showed that 21% of Moldovans say Russia was justified to invade Ukraine, while  31% believe Russia “guarantees peace” in Moldova (Seed/USAID, 2022).

We then discussed the Ukraine-Russia war’s many impacts on Moldova, the first of which is energy. Moldova has been traditionally dependent on Russian gas, so when the Russians cut off Moldova's gas (for supporting Ukraine), it lead to blackouts and brownouts in 2022, and steep price increases (because the European energy they buy now is much more expensive) that made energy unaffordable for many Moldovans. According to UNDP, 60% of Moldovans live in 'energy poverty,' meaning they spend more than 10% of their income on energy bills.

The refugees generated by the war have also had a substantial impact on Moldova. Moldova currently houses more refugees per capita than any other country, according to the International Centre for Migration Policy Development. With a population of 2.6 million, the country is home to 119,000 refugees as of 3 October, 2023. Border crossings from Ukraine since 24 February 2022 number 952,819, according to UNHCR.

I also mentioned how Russian disinformation is targeting Moldova. In a comprehensive report called Blurring the Truth, the Konrad Adanauer Foundation says that Moldova is especially vulnerable to disinformation because it is polarized and has many Russian language media consumers. The themes of this disinformation are essentially anti-EU and pro-Russia, characterizing the West at warmongers, and warning that embracing the West means rejecting "traditional" pro-family values, and embracing pro-LGBTQ values.

In concluding, I summarized that Moldova is at a crossroads. The country is on track for EU membership in 2030, if all the EU requirements are met. Will Moldova continue on the path to a prosperous future, or will it take an eastward turn instead, taking a road back into the Soviet era and into the waiting arms of a Russia eager to manipulate and exploit it? 2.6 million Moldovan lives, as well as security and stability throughout eastern Europe, are at stake. USAID has pumped $640 million in aid to Moldova since 1992, so the U.S. has a financial stake here, too.

The Q and A session was lively and interesting. One participant asked how Moldova can consider itself a democratic country, yet still ban an opposition political party. My response was that this party, called Sor after it’s pro-Russian founder, operated illegally, both by accepting foreign contributions from Russia, and by illegally bribing voters and election officials. Another question asked about Moldova’s potential for tourism. I said that, once the Ukraine war ends, this potential is enormous. The country is very pretty, the wine is great, the capital Chisinau is cosmopolitan, and the rural areas perfect for cultural tourism that highlights this region’s traditional charms. One questioner asked what I thought the Russian troops in Transnistria would do, and my answer was, essentially, nothing. In the big picture of the Ukraine war, 1,500 troops aren’t much, and they better serve Russian interests by staying put and menacing Moldova.

I always love these IRC events because of the high level of discourse, and thus look forward to my next invitation at the IRC.

 

 

 

Fulbright Update:
Journalism school teambuilding interactive, fun, useful
When I was invited to a teambuilding weekend retreat with students and colleagues from the Moldova Journalism School, I had mixed reactions.

Costesti resort, Moldova

I was curious to see what this was all about, and also to experience the Costesti resort on a pretty lake about 30 minutes from Chisinau. I did have some trepidations, however. As team building, I wondered how much I would get out of the event. And I was worried that my crummy Romanian would be insufficient for me to fully participate.

The Costesti resort was the perfect venue for our group from the Moldova Journalism School, which is not a part of the university but rather a separate academy that offers a 6-month crash course in journalism for those a bit older. The weather was perfect—mid 80’s in mid-October, unseasonably warm. The setting was great, as was the food—lots of fresh fish, which I love.

Teambuilding session

The teambuilding sessions were fun,  interactive, and useful—games designed to get us to cooperate in teams to complete a task of some sort. We also had a session where we read proverbs off of cards, then discussed what they meant to us. My card, translated, read that it’s difficult to acquire wisdom in a life without a little craziness. I said that I disagree with this statement since it takes more than a little craziness to become wise. Based on their feedback, the Scoala team found left the weekend feeling more connected with one another.

My favorite part of the weekend was the after-dinner gab session on Saturday night, when we discussed a little of everything, including media and the Israel-Hamas war. It was nice to learn more about the students and about my fellow instructors, none of whom I had met before the retreat. I hope to collaborate further with these professionals, one of whom told me harrowing stories about reporting from Ukraine.

My Romanian was adequate, barely. I understand pretty well, and read my card without help. I still struggle to say what I want to say. It’s frustrating trying to communicate complex ideas with a fourth grade vocabulary (with apologies to Moldovan fourth graders). I am improving, but not nearly fast enough for someone who is allegedly intelligent.

It was a weekend well spent, and makes me anxious for my next lesson to the students at the school of journalism.